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FRANZ JOSEF HAYDN: Theresienmesse (iv) Sanctus Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth! Pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua. Osanna in excelsis. (v) Benedictus In keeping with the predominant character of the Mass, the Sanctus is intimate in tone, with none of the awe and fervour generated by the equivalent section of the Nelson Mass. The unhurried nobility of the movement’s opening gives way to a short, vigorous section ‘Pleni sunt coeli’ where, in a manner typical of Haydn, borrowed harmonies from the tonic minor allow harmonic clouds temporarily to obscure the sun, before the tonic major key’s blazing re-emergence. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Sabaoth. Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory. Hosanna in the highest. The Benedictus, in the traditionally pastoral key of G major, is also far removed from the disquieting counterpart in the earlier work; a lyrical sonata-form movement with a distinct Austrian flavour, whose fluid writing for soloists often suggests the texture of a string quartet. At the movement’s centre a choral climax grandly reaffirms the work’s main key. Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini. Osanna in excelsis. (vi) Agnus Dei Blessed is He who cometh in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. With its bare unison writing the G minorAgnus Dei has an asperity startling in the context of this Mass, with powerful chorus unisons, subito fortes following hushed pianos and agitated and twisted figures in the violins - a whole gamut of dramaticSturm und Drang effects. These act as a wonderful foil for the return of the Kyrie’s pastoral music as the ‘Dona nobis pacem’ restores the home key. Despite the sudden appearance of martial fanfares (heard at the same point in the Missa in tempore belli and the Harmoniemesse), much of this final section nevertheless has a lyrical openness characteristic of the whole work. With its urgent yet tender fugato writing, this movement arguably expresses the text’s prayer more truly than any of Haydn’s late Masses. Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis. Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis. Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona nobis pacem. Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us. Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us. Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, grant us peace. MAURICE DURUFLÉ: Quatre motets sur des thèmes grégoriens, Op 10 (i) Ubi caritas et amor (ii) Tota pulchra es (iii) Tu es Petrus (iv) Tantum ergo Maurice Duruflé, born in Louviers in 1902, deservedly has earned a special place in 20th century French music. He produced no more than a dozen works during a long career as a church organist - a similar output to that of his teacher, Paul Dukas. For both the sorcerer and his apprentice, composition was a slow, laborious activity, involving constant revision and fastidious craftsmanship. Duruflé’s apprenticeship as an organist and improviser began in the Cathedral of Rouen and, after the First World War, he studied at the Paris Conservatoire. He became assistant organist to Charles Tournemire (1870-1939) at Sainte- Clotilde in Paris and later deputized at Notre Dame for Louis Vierne (1870- 1937). In 1930, Duruflé became titulaire at Saint-Etienne-du-Mont, a post he shared from 1953 with his wife Marie-Madeleine Duruflé-Chevalier, also an organist with a formidable technique. Duruflé was deeply committed to the plainsong liturgy and later was devastated at its virtual demise during the reforms of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65). Plainsong was the lifeblood of nearly all his works, and the source of his musical and spiritual inspiration. Tournemire had inspired him with the possibilities of plainsong and modal harmony as a vehicle for a wide range of mood and emotion and Duruflé’s style also draws upon the music of a distinguished line of French composers: Fauré (1845-1924), Debussy (1862- 1918), Dukas (1865-1935) - his most significant teacher at the Paris Conservatoire - and Ravel (1875-1937). Of the Quatre motets sur des thèmes grégoriens Nicholas Kaye has written: ‘The Four Motets (1960) are an exquisite blend of polyphony and underlying plainsong inspiration. Always in evidence are Duruflé’s sensitive, personal reactions to the spiritual themes behind the words. The motets open and end with the presence of God. In Ubi Caritas et amor musical warmth reflects God’s spirit in human charity. In Tantum Ergo there is a mystical atmosphere of veneration suitable for God’s presence in the sacrament. Between these two motets come the contrasting feminine lightness of one dedicated to Mary (Tota pulchra es) and the masculine firmness of Tu es Petrus which builds up to an uncompromising cadence.’ Ubi caritas et amor Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est. Congregavit nos in unum Christi amor. Exsultemus et in ipso jucundemur. Timeamus et amemus Deum vivum et ex corde diligamus nos sincero. Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est. Amen Where charity and love are, there is God. The love of Christ has brought us together into one flock. Let us rejoice and let us be glad in that love itself. Let us fear and love the living God and let us love from a pure heart. Where charity and love are, there is God. Amen Tota pulchra es Tota pulchra es, Maria, et macula originalis non est in te. Vestimentum tuum candidum quasi nix, et facies tua sicut sol. Tu gloria Jerusalem, tu laetitia Israel, tu honorificentia populi nostri. Tota pulchra es, Maria. Thou art all beauty, Mary, and there is no blemish of original sin in thee. Thy garments are as white as snow, and thy face is as the sun. Thou art the glory of Jerusalem, the joy of Israel, the source of honour to our people. Thou art all beauty, Mary. Tu es Petrus Tu es Petrus et super hanc petram aedificabo ecclesiam meam. Thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my church. Tantum ergo Tantum ergo sacramentum veneremur cernui; et antiquum documentum novo cedat ritui; praestet fides supplementum sensuum defectui. Genitori, genitoque laus et jubilatio, salus, honor, virtus quoque sit et benedictio; procedenti ab utroque compare sit laudatio. Amen Let us venerate this great sacrament with bowed heads; let the ancient example give way to a new rite; let faith make good the insufficiency of our senses. Praise and rejoicing, safety and honour, virtue and blessing to the begetter and begotten; to him who comes from either be there equal praise. Amen -6- -7-
MAURICE DURUFLÉ: Requiem, Op 9 MAURICE DURUFLÉ: Requiem, Op 9 Duruflé’s conservative church background perhaps helps to explain the character of his music which eschews the experimentation and forging of a new musical language which preoccupied his friend and fellow-student, Olivier Messiaen. Feeling no such compulsion to compose in a style which must sound new, Duruflé looked backwards rather than forwards. His music fuses two streams - the modality which derives from his liturgical background and the harmonies colouring the composition of his immediate seniors, Fauré, Debussy, Ravel and his own master, Dukas. The resulting synthesis, whilst it may be judged as somewhat old-fashioned, nevertheless has its own personal accent and distinctive syntax. The Requiem of 1947 is Duruflé’s largest and most important composition. It exists in three versions: for large orchestra, for a smaller orchestra (the version performed this evening) and the more frequently performed small-scale version, accompanied only by organ. The work is dedicated to the memory of the composer’s father and owes its origin to a commission from Duruflé ‘s publishers, Durand, which arrived whilst he was working on a suite of organ pieces based on plainsong themes from the Mass for the Dead. The organ sketches lent themselves admirably to expansion and transformation into a Requiem, and plainsong became the basis of the work, unifying it and inspiring it with a timelessness and contemplative spirituality that forms its essence. Duruflé’s model is obviously the great Requiem of Gabriel Fauré. Duruflé’s setting is no slavish imitation, however, but rather a reworking within the structure and mood established by the older composer, based upon admiration and respect. Fauré’s setting had marked a radical break with the tradition established by Berlioz and Verdi that emphasized hellfire and an overwhelming sense of grief. He omitted the Day of Judgement texts and focused instead upon rest and peace, even to the extent of borrowing the In Paradisum from the Burial Service. Duruflé sets the same Latin texts as Fauré but, by separating the Introit from the Kyrie and the Agnus Dei from the Lux Aeterna, he divides the Requiem into nine sections rather than Fauré’s seven. Duruflé’s use of two soloists is similar, the work opens with the same tonality as Fauré’s, the structure of the Sanctus owes an evident debt to Faure’s example as does the Libera me and the In Paradisum. Nevertheless, Duruflé’s setting is very original, its strength lying in its highly individual fusion of disparate elements. One is reminded of Nicholas Brady’s text set by Purcell in Hail Bright Cecilia (1692), and sung in the Somerset Chamber Choir’s concert here last summer: Thou didst the scatter’d atoms bind, Which by the laws of true proportion joined Made up various parts, one perfect harmony. The ‘scatter’d atoms’ in Duruflé ‘s case are plainsong, liturgical modality, subtle counterpoint and the refined textures of Debussy, Ravel and Dukas. ‘True proportion’ is lent by the often literal use of plainsong which provides a great expressive and flowing rhythmic freedom and the ‘perfect harmony’ is not only formed of notes but results from a pervading sense of tranquillity and spiritual optimism. The French tradition of sacred music encompasses much more than simply a musical style and has as its mainspring a particular attitude towards religion. The French musicologist, Jean Roy, encapsulates it thus: For just as there is a specifically French music, there is a specifically French piety, one that rejects austerity, emphasis and sentimentality, that conveys a certain elegance of spirit, a certain decorum and includes in its gestures a sort of familiarity with the sacred. In 1975, Maurice Duruflé was forced to relinquish his position at Saint-Etiennedu-Mont when he suffered a bad car accident which was to prevent him from composing for the rest of his life. On 16 June 1986, the composer died at the age of 84, having been in hospital for several months. As a tribute to his life and work, this Requiem was performed at his memorial service later that year. Introit Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis. Te decet hymnus, Deus, in Sion et Tibi reddetur votum in Jerusalem. Exaudi orationem meam; ad Te omnis caro veniet. Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis. Eternal rest grant them, O Lord, and may perpetual light shine upon them. A hymn, O God, becometh Thee in Sion, and a vow shall be paid to Thee in Jerusalem. Hear my prayer; to Thee all flesh shall come. Eternal rest grant them, O Lord, and may perpetual light shine upon them. Kyrie Kyrie eleison. Christe eleison. Kyrie eleison. Domine Jesu Christe Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Domine Jesu Christe, Rex gloriae, libera animas omnium fidelium defunctorum de poenis inferni et de profundo lacu; libera eas de ore leonis; ne absorbeat eas tartarus, ne cadant in obscurum, sed signifer sanctus Michael repraesentet eas in lucem sanctam quam olim Abrahae promisisti et semini ejus. Hostias et preces Tibi, Domine, laudis offerimus; Tu suscipe pro animabus illis quarum hodie memoriam facimus. Fac eas, Domine, de morte transire ad vitam, quam olim Abrahae promisisti et semini ejus. O Lord Jesus Christ, King of Glory, deliver the souls of all the faithful departed from the pains of Hell and from the bottomless pit; save them from the lion’s jaws, that hell may not engulf them, that they may not fall into darkness, but let St Michael the standard-bearer lead them into the holy light which Thou of old didst promise to Abraham and to his seed. Sacrifices and prayers of praise to Thee, O Lord, we offer; do Thou receive them on behalf of those souls whom this day we commemorate. Grant them, O Lord, to pass from death unto life, which Thou of old didst promise to Abraham and to his seed. Sanctus Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth. Pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua. Hosanna in excelsis. Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini. Hosanna in excelsis. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Sabaoth. Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. Pie Jesu Pie Jesu, Domine, dona eis requiem. Pie Jesu, Domine, dona eis requiem sempiternam. Blessed Jesus, Lord, grant them rest. Blessed Jesus, Lord, grant them eternal rest. Agnus Dei Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona eis requiem. Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona eis requiem sempiternam. O Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world, grant them rest. O Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world, grant them eternal rest. Lux aeterna Lux aeterna luceat eis, Domine, cum sanctis tuis in aeternum, quia pius es. Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis: quia pius es. Let everlasting light shine on them, O Lord, with Thy saints for ever: for Thou art merciful. Eternal rest grant them, O Lord, and may perpetual light shine upon them: for Thou art merciful. Libera me Libera me, Domine, de morte aeterna in die illa tremenda quando coeli movendi sunt et terra; dum veneris judicare saeculum per ignem. Tremens factus sum ego, et timeo, dum discussio venerit atque ventura ira, quando coeli movendi sunt et terra. Dies illa, dies irae, calamitatis et miseriae, dies magna et amara valde, dum veneris judicare saeculum per ignem. Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis. Deliver me, O Lord, from everlasting death on that dread day when the heavens and earth shall quake; when Thou shalt come to judge the world by fire. I am seized with trembling and am afraid until the day of reckoning shall arrive and the wrath shall come, when the heavens and earth shall quake. That day, a day of wrath, calamity and misery, a great and exceedingly bitter day, when Thou shalt come to judge the world by fire. Eternal rest grant them, O Lord, and may perpetual light shine upon them. In Paradisum In Paradisum deducant te angeli, in tuo adventu suscipiant te martyres, et perducant te in civitatem sanctam Jerusalem. Chorus angelorum te suscipiat, et cum Lazaro quondam paupere aeternam habeas requiem. May angels lead thee to Paradise, at thy coming may the martyrs receive thee and bring thee into the holy city of Jerusalem. May the choir of angels receive thee and with Lazarus, once a beggar, may thou have eternal rest. Somerset Chamber Choir Friends Scheme: Benefactors and their guests are invited to meet the conductor and soloists immediately after the concert; Gold Patrons, Patrons and Friends are invited to meet the choir in the nearby Town Hall, where the conductor will join us in due course. -8- -9-
Page 1 and 2: Somerset Chamber Choir ‘Over the
Page 3: programme notes FRANZ JOSEF HAYDN:
Page 7 and 8: London Festival Orchestra Somerset

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